Various kinds of audio visual equipment owned by the user have been becoming popular. That is to say, personal enjoyment of the so-called musical software and the so-called movie software has been becoming popular.
For example, the user owns an audio system for disc storage mediums such as a CD (Compact Disc), an MD (Mini Disc) and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). With such an audio system, the user is capable of reproducing contents from a desired CD, MD or DVD that the user purchased as package media or recording selected favorite musical software onto recordable media.
In addition, as audio visual equipment, a recording/reproduction apparatus for storing audio and video data files onto large-capacity media such as a hard disc has been developed.
For example, a content recorded on the package media owned by the user can be recorded by dumping to a storage medium employed in the recording/reproduction apparatus. An example of the package media is a CD, an example of the content is musical software and an example of the storage medium is a hard disc. By using a large-capacity storage medium of the recording/reproduction apparatus, for example, the user is capable of storing all pieces of musical software from a large number of CDs or other package storage media owned by the user in a recording/reproduction system. An example of the large-capacity storage medium is an HDD (hard-disc drive).
By having pieces of musical software recorded in a recording/reproduction system as described above, when the user wants to reproduce a piece of musical software, the user does not have go to all the trouble to find a CD or other package recording media for recording the desired musical software and mount the CD on the recording/reproduction apparatus. That is to say, the user needs only to operate the recording/reproduction apparatus to select, read out and reproduce the musical software from the HDD.
Thus, such a recording/reproduction apparatus is extremely convenient specially for, among others, a user who owns a large number of CDs or the like. In addition, since there is no need to replace the CDs or the like, for example, it is possible to simply and conveniently do things such as enjoyment of a music content by selecting a piece of music data suitable for the state of mind and the situation, which prevail at that time.
Also, such a recording/reproduction apparatus makes it possible to communicate through the network, by communicating with an external server (information distribution apparatus), downloading music contents can be implemented. That is to say, the recording/reproduction apparatus factions as an information communication terminal.
Since a downloaded content is also stored in the HDD, the user can enjoy music or the like with ease.
By the way, a content downloaded or distributed by an external server normally has a content ID assigned to the content. Thus, contents stored for example in the HDD of an information communication terminal or a recording/reproduction apparatus can be managed by using content IDs assigned to the contents.
On the other hand, a content copied by the user from recording media such as a CD to the HDD does not have a content ID from the beginning. Thus, in order to manage such contents recorded on the HDD, the information communication terminal assigns a content ID to each of the contents.
In an HDD under the condition described above, no uniformity exists between content IDs assigned to contents copied (ripped) from a recording medium such as a CD contents downloaded from an external server.
The non-existence of uniformity inadvertently limits the enhancement of the operating function of the equipment and the improvement of services provided for the user.
For example, there is no way to contents distributable from an external server in a process to present distributable contents are contents already stored in the HDD. To put it concretely, the user is not capable of determining whether or not a content cataloged on a content list showing distributable contents worth charging for is a content already stored in the HDD. An example of the content is musical software.
In addition, even if the user wants to acquire various kinds of information on a particular content such as musical software, which has been ripped from a recording medium such as a CD, from an external server, since the content ID assigned to the particular content is different from the content ID cataloged in the server as an ID assigned to the same content available in the server, a communication process cannot be carried out smoothly.